Lookout PM: UC workers avert strike with tentative agreement, upcoming beach parties, and Watsonville’s short-lived parking meter

UC, AFSCME 3299 reach tentative agreement and avert strike

By Hillary Ojeda

The University of California and the union representing around 40,000 of its employees reached a tentative labor agreement early Thursday morning, averting a planned open-ended strike involving service and patient care workers across the UC system. The proposed contract includes wage increases, caps on healthcare premium hikes, expanded leave and workplace protections.

Weekender: Luminous beach parties, Vegan Challenge winners and name a beer for Scotts Valley

Your cheat sheet for eating well and going out in Santa Cruz County this weekend.

Watsonville installed a meter along Aviation Way hoping to solve parking problems. Four days later, the city removed it

By Tania Ortiz

Four days after installing a parking meter along Aviation Way as part of a 30-day pilot program to mitigate long-term parking problems, Watsonville city officials removed the meter following negative feedback from businesses and residents.

Housing inventory takes jump as Santa Cruz County’s busy season commences

By Max Chun

Most of the Santa Cruz County housing market showed few surprises in April, but the number of available homes took a leap, rising to more than 400 properties on the market for the first time since October 2025.

OPINION: Clean energy should not bypass local accountability at the BESS facility on Minto Road

By Eduardo Hurtado

Watsonville writer Eduardo Hurtado believes community concerns about New Leaf Energy’s proposed battery storage project outside Watsonville should be a red flag to the state to look more closely at the plan and what might happen in an emergency. He worries about New Leaf’s choice to pursue approval for the facility through California’s energy commission rather than continuing in Santa Cruz County. The Minto Road facility sits close to the College Lake water storage project, he writes, a key part of South County’s water system. Hurtado insists that this sensitive location requires extra scrutiny of land and water infrastructure and argues that the state must fully assess water safety, emergency risks and local impacts before moving forward.

Why we created a food insecurity roundup for Santa Cruz County

By Jamie Garfield

Ahead of Friday’s community symposium on food insecurity, we created a new roundup collecting Lookout Santa Cruz’s reporting on hunger, food access and local response efforts across the county. From emergency food distributions to long-term policy challenges, these stories show how deeply food insecurity affects our community — and why these conversations matter now more than ever.